It is well known that for many-years distinct techniques have been used around the word, and millions of dollars have been spent in order to protect the production and exportation of fruits and vegetables, by means of using distinct solid, liquid or gas chemical products, and a variety of utensils have been designed in order to place selected chemical agents therein for the containment thereof, and that generically they are know as traps. Such traps, made in distinct shapes and with distinct materials, have been modernized over time.
Currently, the most commonly used detection method to determine the presence or absence of the Mediterranean fruit fly and other adult fruit flies in a determined area, is the method by means of a specific trap. This method consists of the establishment and maintenance in operation of an effective and strategically placed network of traps, subject to periodic revision according to the importance of the area.
For a long time, the typical method among such techniques has been habitually conserved, being the use of traps with chemical products inoffensive to humans but effective against the distinct species that attack fruits and vegetables. It is true that at first they may have been products of easy detection and consumption, and that with time the systems underwent many transformations in their forms and with the raw materials they used, thus taking on different forms to make them more effective.
When first implemented, the first techniques were perhaps somewhat effective against pests, but with time, said species have adapted themselves to the distinct chemical products used to control them and they have become more resistant to such compounds, in that their organisms have evolved and changed, becoming necessary, in order to combat them, to modify the form of the traps as well as the used chemical products, but without such changes affecting the quality and nature of the fruits and vegetables, and with the use thereof, it is intended to completely minimize their inconveniences in a rapid and effective manner, while achieving a satisfactory performance in the undertaking of their eradication.
Although in the study of this field, multiple traps have been used in the past, the most widely used traps for many years in programs of detection, capture, prevention, ecological control and for the monitoring of populations of sterile flies in the areas submitted to programs of massive release, are of two types: Artisan, such as the EUGOTCC-2000 and the JD-EUGO-97 made using disposable fruit juice cartons and pasteurized milk cartons, or everyday disposable 2-liter plastic soda bottles or similar containers.
But there are also other types of so-called traditional or conventional traps, among with are the following:
The McPhail trap, which is a pear-shaped, transparent, invaginated, glass container, consisting of a cork stopper that completely seals the upper part and which has a wire hook to hang it on tree branches. This trap uses liquid food baits with hydrolyzed proteins or yeast with borax. This trap not only traps fruit flies but also other flies and it required much labor for servicing and topping up, and therefore the number of traps attended is limited. These traps should be checked every 8-15 days in order to know how many flies have been captured; if the number of captured flies is high, the control should be completed with the aspersion of toxic bait.
The Miltilure trap is a new version of the Mcpail trap, consisting of a two-piece, cylinder-shaped plastic container, which is separated in order to effectuate servicing and baiting. The transparent upper part contrasts with the yellow base, increasing the attraction of flies, but it uses synthetic dry bait, therefore being more selective and powerful; it is cleaner and requires less labor, and it is therefore cheaper.
The open-bottomed Dry trap with synthetic dry bait consists of a open-bottomed green cardboard or plastic cylinder covered with wax, with transparent plastic in the upper part and holes in the cylinder, and it uses a sticky insert. This trap is used in areas where glass traps are unable to be used and it is capable of trapping males with its bait.
The yellow Panel trap is made from rectangular cardboard covered by a thin layer of glue and it uses pheromones as bait, specifically for males, and it uses a hook for hanging. It is easy to handle and needs little labor, but its defect is that the glue destroys the flies and it requires special delivery transportation and should not be used in areas subject to massive release of sterile flies, and it also traps other insects, some of which are beneficial insects.
The Cook and Cunningham trap consists of 3 detachable panels, separated from each other. The 2 external panels are cardboard and they are covered with glue on the outside. The center panel is used as a trimedlure bait. The 3 panels provide a greater adhesive surface for the capture of flies, which are fixed by clips and it is hung with a hook, and the trap is used for a massive, economic capture of the Mediterranean fly, or in order to monitor and detect very low incursions of flies.
The Champ trap consists of a yellow, sticky, two-dimensional, rectangular panel, designed for use with polymeric bait. The face of the panel is perforated for a high release of the bait, and the outer surface is covered with glue and it also uses synthetic bait. This trap is the same as the yellow panel with respect to sensitivity, and it is recommended for delimiting infestations in fruit fly eradication programs, and it has been used in California, baited with ammonium carbonate for the olive fly.
The Tephri trap is similar in design to the Mcphil trap, and is widely used in Europe; it is cylinder-shaped with a yellow base and a removable transparent top, so that it can be cleaned, with holes in the upper part and an opening in the bottom. The top has a platform inside on which the baits are placed, and such baits may be food, pheromone or similar baits, as well as hydrolyzed or liquid protein bait in the form of polymeric plastic, but it is always necessary to add cottonwool impregnated with insecticide in order to prevent the escape of the captured insects.
The Steiner trap consists of a transparent horizontal cylinder with two large entrances at the ends, with a hook on the upper part for hanging. This trap uses specific pheromones for the capture of males and the bait is placed in the center by means of cottonwool impregnated with a mixture of pheromone or insecticide, or a polymeric tablet of controlled release is placed in a plastic basket suspended from the roof of the trap.
There are also much more sophisticated types of traps, but they are much more expensive, such as cone-shaped traps that function with electric current with wired or wireless connections, and they are used for the capture of nocturnal insect pests, and they are only turned on at night. Given there high expense, these traps are not described herein.
The objective of this invention is obviously to present a type of trap that is different from those known up to now, while taking into account the fact that it is cheap, easy to transport, handle and deal with, thus permitting the effectuation of a greater number of traps than in the case of other commercial traps. This trap innovation is revised between 7 and 14 days for the detection of fruit fly specimens, and it consists of a triangular prism with a waxed cardboard insert, covered with a layer of sticky material that traps the flies, and a plastic basket that holds a polymer tablet with bait where the bait is placed in both sides, and such bait may be the same or different, and the trap is hung with a wire hook placed in the upper part of the body of the trap.
This trap, invented by me, for the capture of Mediterranean fruit flies or other fruit flies, has modified the design and interior of the trap, which, when assembled, makes it comprehensive but not bulky, having modified the comparison with the distinct traps on the market, while proposing a revolutionary model with a geometric figure shaped in the form of a triangle, fully assembled in one sole piece, using innovative materials, both for the bait as well as the glue, and incorporating other devices, making it versatile and long-lasting, thus creating an innovative model, incorporating several particularities never before used, and which underline the advantages thereof, given that they have been thought up in such a manner that as a whole, they are harmonious and completely different from the traditional manufactured traps.
It is important to take into account that the specific value of my invention is found in the interaction of the form and constitution of my trap for pest insects, being made of a thermoplastic, but which may easily be folded in order to form a triangle, and which presents a rim with projections so that, upon folding, it coincides with perforations on the opposite side, thus creating a firm structure with a grate for the bait, with a plate of a phosphorescent material covered with a stick material and a bait placed fully inside a basket of the trap. The plate remains illuminated for a period of six hours in the dark or in dim light on cloudy days, which makes it more effective in the capture of insect pests, which in itself is an innovation in the corresponding art, thus making this invention patentable.